Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Radar Chaos update!

I've been playing Big Fat Simulation's latest release, Radar Chaos, and thought I'd share a few unique features this game has over any other ATC (air traffic control) game out there yet!

1. The Control Interface is simple to understand and use. Slow & Fast and Up & Down are self explanatory. The heading uses the 360 degree compass, whereas 360 is North, 090 is East, 180 is South and 270 is West. Just drag the pointer in the direction you want the plane to fly, and even if you don't understand the compass points, you can still play the game.

2. Snitch Detector: Like some air traffic control radars have in real life, this game detects when two or more aircraft get to close. If there is less than 1,000 feet, or less than 3 miles lateral separation, you lose points - better than losing your job! It even draws a line when they get close showing the actually distance in tenths of a mile.

In this example the aircraft are 600' and 4.3 miles apart!

3. Mountains: The Mountains Level is my favorite so far. The mountains are brown (easy to recognize) and even have an altitude symbol beside them. If you place an aircraft too low in the mountains you get a comment, such as "hey, what are those billy goats doing up here?" or something like that!

4. Music: I actually like the music that plays with the game. Adds an element of suspense. I'm glad they did away with the voices of the pilots like they had in their original games, which are still available. The sounds associated with crashes, near misses etc... are appropriate and made me jump the first time I heard one. Avoid this!

5. Score: I'll be honest here, I need some practice at this because this is one area where I need to improve. The game shows how well a player does in a few ways. There is an airline satisfaction meter that gives a great visual representation of how well you are doing. There is also a status based on experience level - I've reached the mighty "instructor" level now. Most importantly, the game shows a player what their salary would be as an air traffic controller based on how well they do. Airplanes crashing into mountains or each other negatively affects this score.

With 10 levels, Radar Chaos is a great game that you will never get bored with. Have fun with it, and just don't beat my Kick Butt score!!!